The Case of Temple Grandin
The Case of Temple Grandin paints a picture of a young woman’s determination and hard work while struggling with autism during a time when the disorder was unknown. This case discusses Grandin’s challenges, early diagnosis, growth and development in school, and support from her mother. Temple Grandin could not speak like the other children at the age of two, so because doctors could not find any physical issues she had been subsequently labeled as brain-damaged. To communicate with others, she would throw tantrums and scream. She could speak by three and a half years old with the help of speech therapy. A few years later at the age of five, Grandin was diagnosed with autism so her mother worked with her 30
…show more content…
Despite general agreements among experts who believe biological factors cause autism, experts have not identified cures or causes (Hansell & Damour, 2008).
Leo Kanner (1943) believes autism is a result of emotional deprivation. He notes that parents of autistic children are intellectually and analytically oriented, but lack emotional warmth (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009).Some psychodynamic theorist believe autistic children were born normal, but became autistic after experiencing painful interactions with hostile or cold parents (Hansell & Damour, 2008). The term autistic implies a failure to effectively relate to the environment. Autistic individuals are perceived as elusive and distant (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009). Behavioral programs are most effective with autistic children and are used to teach them language, communication skills, self-care, and adaptation to the community (Hansell & Damour, 2008).
Diagnostic Criteria for Autism
At the age of two Temple Grandin had no speech, made little eye contact, withdrew from social interactions, and spent a lot of time staring into space (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009). Autism is the most common diagnosis under the persuasive developmental disorder category; it differs from Rett’s disorder and childhood disintegrative disorder. Children with autism have impairments in three categories with at least six items within the categories; two from the first category and at least one each from the
Autism, it is considered a death sentence when one is diagnosed with it. However, one
In Thinking in Pictures, Temple Grandin describes autism from the perspective of an engineer, animal enthusiast, scientist, and autistic activist. By providing a balanced discussion of the disorder’s deficits and abilities, her autism is portrayed in a refreshingly positive light. Grandin highlights the special heightened abilities that people with autism possess and repeatedly emphasizes the importance of cultivating skills and channeling interests. When discussing deficits, Grandin does not only state which symptoms people with autism may experience, but goes further to explain why these behaviors manifest. She provides readers with a neurological basis for nearly every behavior, from public tantrums and lack of empathy to avoiding eye contact and fearing change. Grandin tactfully defines, describes, and in a sense, justifies, all the seemingly strange behaviors that people with autism may exhibit, which consequentially helps to reduce the stigmatization of autism. Furthermore, she maintains the hopeful
Temple was diagnosed with autism in 1950 and her parents were told that she had it bad. Institutionalizing her would be best, but her parents decided not to and instead spent hours on speech therapy with her. Temple first started to talk when she was almost four while the normal age is around two years. She also communicated by screaming, peeping, and humming. After years of being teased, one of her high
“Temple’s most important innovations in design were accomplished not in spite of but because of her autism”. Says Sy Montgomery, the author of “Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World”. When someone has autism, it doesn’t mean they are dim-witted or different from everyone else. Temple Grandin inherited various special qualities which makes her extremely inspirational.
The work of Liu, King, and Bearman (2011) report that autism ""¦is a developmental disorder characterized by impairments in social interaction and communication, often accompanied by stereotypical or repetitive behaviors." (p.1387) Reported as well is that substantial resources are spent providing treatment to children in families who have been diagnosed with autism and specifically stated is that the resources needed are "significantly more than for other children neuropsychiatric and developmental disorders." (Liu, King and Bearman, 2010, p. 1387)
Scientists are still unsure as to what causes autism, but it is most commonly a genetic
Working with children with autism and their families is an important issue. According to the U.S. Department of Education, identification of children with autism increased 79% from 1993-1997. This increase is not proportional to other disabilities, since the increase in identification of all disabilities from the same period was only 9.5% (National Center for Education Statistics, 1998). Over 500,000 people in the U.S. have some form of autism or pervasive developmental disorder, making it one of the most common developmental disabilities (Autism Society of America, 1999). Yet many professionals in healthcare and education do not have the knowledge or preparation to work with this growing population (Autism Society of America, 1999; Hart, 1993; Jordan & Powell, 1995; Muskat & Redefer, 1994).
Temple Grandin was an autistic who despite her difficulties was able to turn it around and become successful. Many people have autism and are very smart but Temple Grandin became successful and changed many people's lives for the better. Temple Grandin possesses empathy understanding and commonalities that make her a great role model.
Temple Grandin spoke about autism and how people need to change their thinking about this disorder. She mention that she was a visual learner and how many children think different from the typical child. Temple mentions how people need to change their thinking about children with autism. She mentions that schools need to have more hands on classes as in auto shop and art. People need to understand that all children that are diagnosed with autism can have similar symptoms of the disorder, but not all child with autism are the same. Temple also mentions that children that have autism need early intervention and mentors are essentially in helping children who have autism. Mentors can help show children and teenagers different skills as in coming
The movie entitled Temple Grandin featured the life of an autistic girl and the experiences she had from when she was so distant to others until she learned to cope up and became a better individual. She has autism which, according to Ernspberger, refers to “neurologic disorders involving serious impairment of abilities to interact and communicate socially, and repetitive and restricted interests and activities” (3). The purpose of this film is to let us see the life of an autistic person and feel what it is like to be her. Temple had struggles in life because of her gender and disability. People around her thought that she’s weird.
Did you know that one in very sixty-eight children is diagnosed with autism? Many Americans do not know that much about autism or its effects and challenges that come with it. What is autism anyways? Autism is a neurological disorder that affects one’s ability to communicate with others, respond to stimuli in an appropriate way, or build relationships (Barnes,2015). Temple Grandin was just two years old when she was diagnosed with autism. Temple has faced, and will continue to face many barriers in her life with this disorder, but has overcome many of them. She has used her abilities and her different perspective to accomplish amazing things.
Patience, acceptance, confidence. Temple Grandin’s story is one of finding yourself, being comfortable with yourself, and not letting anyone stop you from following your dreams and reaching your full potential. She not only proved herself as a female working in a very male dominated field, but she proved herself as someone with a disability defeating the odds and becoming extremely successful regardless of her countless trials.
Bryna Siegel is well respected in the autism community she holds a PhD in Child Development and a MA in Education from Stanford University and is author of four books on diagnosing and treating autism spectrum disorders. Her credentials alone established trustworthiness and creditability appealing to the ethos appeal she knows what she is talking about and I can trust exactly what is stating based on her educational and experience in the field. This book covers fundamentals of learning for individuals diagnosed on the autism spectrum disorder. In this book, she discussed the challenges individual on the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) face. The intended audience for this book was the parents and professionals seeking to find the best treatment for an individual on the spectrum based on learning styles. This book was easy to read and could be easily understood by whomever reads it. Bryna stated that effective treatment was based on individual’s needs. She claimed that, "in order to help individuals on the spectrum that we must identify social autistic learning disabilities" (Bryna). Which were identified as Autist learning disabilities of communication and autism learning disability and skills of daily living. Bryna mentioned methods such as Applied Behavioral Analysis Therapy which utilized discreet trials and training methods. I was quite impressed with the amount of knowledge this author expressed. This book had a lot of the logos appeal, she had a lot of facts and evidence which backed her claims. The book itself was very informative and effective with a serious educated
For many centuries, countless individuals have had problems with numerous forms of expression, such as communicating effectively, building relationship, or thinking critically. These multiple forms of complications left their loved ones with an unknown reason for their lack of interaction. It wasn’t until recent years that a name was finally given to classify the disorder these individuals possessed—autism. Autism is a mental condition, characterized by difficulty in communicating and forming relationships with other people and in using language and abstract concepts (qtd. in Young). The term first came about in the 1940s, when researchers used it to describe children with emotional or social problems (“History”). Even though the term first appeared in the 1940s, this disorder did not become prominent until recent years. The rise in autism has been steady since it was first exposed to society. Autism prevalence has increased from 1 in 5,000 in 1975 to 1 in 150 in 2002 to 1 in 68 in 2012 (McNamee). In this paper, I am going to examine various reasoning behind the rise in autism, with my main focal point being, “Why has autism become such a major source of attention and debate in recent years?” I plan to deliberate between different theories that have created attention about the autism community, as well as establish my personal viewpoint on this topic.
Children and adolescents on the autistic spectrum are often not receiving the proper education that will accommodate to their needs. In today’s society there is a large number of schools, teachers, and administration that are lacking to give these students with special needs a valuable education that will help them through everyday life and in their near future. Autism is a growing diagnosis, it is a developmental disorder that affects how children comprehend and obtain information. “People with autism engage in repetitive or obsessive actions and interests, struggle to communicate and have difficulty relating to others and to the world around them” (Swartz). It is a neurological condition and is not treatable but there are several different